Category: Curation

My work is going to be very simple to mount and exhibit because it is collages and a painting. The work will be mounted on the the wall simply so that it stands out is the focus. I will have two collages from the consolidation project and a painting on a piece of wood. I have a corner space so I want the two collages side by side because they are the strongest connection out of the three pieces of work and compliment each other the most. They will be hung against the wall and fastened to it by small metal plugs to keep them flat and smooth. The connecting wall is half the size of a standard wall so I will have my painting of the eye on it because although they work does relate, it is not directly connected and therefore I want to use the corner as a slight divide between the works.The walls will be white so the paintings stand out because the whiteness highlights the artwork. The top of each pieces of art will be level but the bottoms and widths won’t be the same because they are all different sizes. I think the different sizes will give the display movement and diversity. I want the tops of the artwork to be levels so it is square and neat.

However, when it came to the installation of the work. The layout and artworks I decided to use changed. I decided to only use the larger collage because it was the most detailed and the better one out of the two. I wasn’t entirely happy with the eye painting so I get home a produced a charcoal drawing. I was so much happy with the charcoal drawing because it is more my style. When I hung the drawing and the collage on the wall I felt there was a gap between the pieces so I tried out the painting in the middle. I think it work really well and brought all the work together.

As part of my first year experience I get the chance to help a third year degree student with the curation of their final exhibition. This included rearranging the studios to accommodate all of the students, fixing and painting walls and cleaning the floors, as wells as helping them mount their work. Although we were all assigned a third year individually there were times where we needed to help in groups with big and/or complex jobs i.e. fixing the gum tape and moving walls. I find the exhibition prep one of the most exciting and yet stressful times of year because you can see how people have developed and expressed themselves in their own unique way. This is the time where you present your work and development for the public to see. I find this is also a great time for everyone to come together and work as a team to help each other partake in a fantastic exhibition.

The first part of the build was quite slow and tedious because it just involved moving tables and chairs into an enclosed storage space. The large sum of furniture to be moved made this a huge job which took a few days to complete and a plan to fit everything together.

Once every third year we’re able to access their space the fixing and painting could commence! From the start there were many jobs for us to do so there was very little time to stand around. I really enjoy that fact that every third year would need help so you would end up helping many and not just the one you were assigned. It is surprising how long the build takes because you spend a lot of time waiting around for things to dry before you can sand or paint so it can be quite tedious ( messy too)! We were able to get stuck in with the progress which has helped my curation skills.

This time has given me the chance to socialise with students in my year as well as third years and gain some insight into their journey through the Fine Art course at Cardiff and the skills they have learned and developed. With the tutors insight and guidance I have developed my knowledge to a higher level from foundation and be more observant with any imperfections. The next stage of this build is to continue perfecting the walls and start mounting the work.

The exhibition prep is starting to come to an end and the walls and really started to look great. The walls needed a few more coats of paint especially where the tape was because you could still see the brownness of it. My third year and I spent the morning perfecting the wall and sanding down any lumps and bumps.

The last job before mounting the cleaning of the floor. It was definitely the worse job of them all and yet one of the most important for the exhibition.

I wasn’t needed for the mounting of his work because that is more of an individual part. He can now decide how he wants the audience to see and experience the artwork but I am excited to see how it looks when I get the chance to experience it.